Nuzlocke Challenge: Danny's Journal
by Deltheor
Summary: Danny is a trainer who travels the Johto region to challenge the gyms in order to become the Champion. These are his thoughts on his journey. Nuzlocke challenge, journal format. More info inside.
1. Starting Out

This isn't a full fanfiction, it's a journal-type story about my adventures in my Pokemon SoulSilver Nuzlocke challenge. If all goes well with this journal, I will write a full fanfic story about my next Nuzlocke attempt. These are the rules I am following in my challenge-

1. Whenever a Pokemon is knocked out it is considered dead and must be released (I'm placing any 'dead' Pokemon in a PC box and not using for the remainder of the game, so I can keep track of them).  
2. I may ONLY catch the first Pokemon you encounter in each new route (if I fail to catch it, I may not attempt to catch another from the same route).  
3. No healing items outside of battle (Pokemon Center and in-battle items only).  
4. I must nickname my Pokemon (I always nickname my Pokemon, anyway- it makes it much more personal, and it\'s fun to nickname them).

I will be writing my updates in a 1st-person journal style, as told from my character Danny's point of view (I always play as a boy named Danny in my games). Feel free to contact me through this site or deviantART (Delthero) if you have any questions.

And without further ado, enjoy!

* * *

_**Danny's Journal, Part 1**- Starting Out_

Well, I finally started my Pokemon journey today. After getting some stuff from my mom, I went over to Professor Elm's lab so I could run an errand for him to go see his friend in Cherrygrove. He gave my my first Pokemon, surprisingly- a Cyndaquil whom I named Vesuvius. She's got spunk, that's for sure. My friend Lyra thinks she's cute.

Wild Pokemon are hard to deal with, they're all over and like to attack at the most inopportune times. I had to rush back to Elm's lab a couple times to heal because poor Vesuvius kept getting picked on by Pidgeys. After leveling up a bit, though, she had no problem and we made it to Cherrygrove City.

After getting a tour of the town from a nice old man (I learned about the Pokemon centers, I have a feeling I'll be using them a lot) and getting a new pair of running shoes, I set off for Professor Elm's friend's house. After fighting my way through the wild Pokemon in the area, I got to Mr. Pokemon's house and received a strange egg from him. The famous Professor Oak was there as well, so I received a Pokedex from him. Sounds like he thinks I have potential.

After leaving, I received an urgent call from Elm to head back to the lab immediately. I ran there as fast as I could, but was stopped by a red-haired boy who claimed to have a stronger Pokemon than mine. He then challenged me to a battle- turns out, he has a Totodile! Even though its type was better against mine, Vesuvius was at a higher level, so she beat him easily.

After kicking the ginger's butt, he claimed he would one day be the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world, then stormed off. He dropped his Trainer Card in his haste, though, and I glimpsed his name before he snatched it back...

...What the heck kind of name is Silver?

Current Team:  
_Cyndaquil 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.9


	2. To Violet City

_**Danny's Journal, Part 2**__- To Violet City_

After I healed up again at the Pokemon center, I headed back through Route 29 with no problems. When I was back at Elm's Lab, there was a police officer there. Apparently, that ginger kid, Silver, had stolen the Totodile from Elm when he wasn't looking. How Elm was oblivious to that, I have no idea. I gave the police officer Silver's name, and he went on his way.

I then gave the egg Mr. Pokemon had given me to Elm, and he got a bit too happy about it. He then suggested that I take on the Gym challenge of Johto, which I was going to do anyway, providing he let me keep Vesuvius. I talked to my mom about it, and she was surprisingly supportive. She's keeping some of my money that I'll earn on my travels, so I hope that will be helpful.

Lyra then caught up to me, gave me some Pokeballs, and showed me how to catch Pokemon. I already knew how, but it was a helpful reminder. To start, I went north through the gate on Route 29 to get to Route 46. I encountered a Spearow there, so I quickly caught him (even though he put up a bit of a fight and made me use up most of my balls) and named him Thorne.

I stopped in Cherrygrove to get some more Pokeballs and heal up, then I was off to Violet City. On the way, I battled a few trainers, giving Thorne some good battle experience. He's stubborn, but turning out to be a strong member of my team. I got a couple of the trainers' phone numbers, so I may call them to battle if I get bored.

Just before reaching Violet City, I caught a Weedle on Route 31. I named him Venom, and he is very cute. He likes following me and trying to hug my leg. I just hope he doesn't stab me.

There wasn't much to do in Violet City, so I visited the center. I then went south and caught an Ekans in a patch of grass, and named him Indiana. In the evening, after talking to the local people, I visited the Sprout Tower to get some training in. I caught a Gastly on my way up, and named him Scheme. I'll train those two later, once I'm out of this tower.

I saw Silver at the top of the tower again. He was angry that others didn't like his training style, so he stormed off. I don't like that kid, he's too violent. Plus, red-heads scare me.

Well, I beat all the trainers in the tower, and got the TM Flash as a reward. Thorne really took care of all the Bellsprouts, he's awesome. Vesuvius helped when she was needed, as well. Now off to train the rest of my team before taking on the Gym.

...And no, Joey, I don't care about your freaking Rattata. Stop calling me already.

Current Team:**  
**_Cyndaquil_ _'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.13**  
**_Spearow_ _'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.11**  
**_Weedle_ _'Venom'_ Male, Lv.6**  
**_Ekans_ _'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.6**  
**_Gastly_ _'Scheme'_ Male, Lv.4


	3. Departure and Badge

_**Danny's Journal, Part 3**__- Departure and Badge_

...Well, today has been a huge wake-up call. The Pokemon world can be very unforgiving.

I was training my team for the upcoming Gym battle in Route 31, and my newly evolved Kakuna, Venom, was up against a wild Pidgey. He was so close to evolving into a Beedrill, when the Pidgey struck him with an unexpected critical hit with a Tackle. The blow shattered his shell... and he died almost instantly.

I was devastated. I was really growing to like him, too... and the thing that really got me was that I think he tried to hug me right before we got into that battle. I feel so bad for Venom, and the rest of my team was sad, as well. We decided to bury him right outside of Violet City, close to where I captured him.

After I gave Venom a proper burial, I decided to finally face off against the Violet City Gym. The trainers in the Gym were easy, Thorne took care of them no problem. Falkner was a bit of a challenge, especially with Pidgeotto. Pidgey went down fast thanks to Thorne; but I used Vesuvius against Pidgeotto, and its constant Roosting was getting on my nerves. A critical hit from Pidgeotto was nearly fatal, but Vesuvius countered with a critical hit of her own, and the bird went down. The best part was that she evolved because of the battle! Her spunkiness seems to have evolved, as well. She won't stop bouncing.

After exiting the Gym and visiting the center to rest, I got a call from Elm saying that he wanted me to look after the egg I gave him. I went to the Pokemart to pick up the egg, as well as some items my mom apparently bought with my money. Note to mother- next time, buy something actually useful, other than random berries, please.

Violet City is strange, though- some random lady in a kimono came up when I was walking around the city and told me to take good care of the egg. I was confused, I had never seen her before in my life. She was hot, though. Must have been the kimono.

After walking around the city for a little while, the egg hatched into a Togepi! He's now sitting on my head. I named him Charain, and he's a powerful little bugger. He was born with a Psychic-type move, Extrasensory, so he's been leveling up rather fast.

I then went south towards the Union cave. Nothing special happened, just got a couple more phone numbers and raised my team a bit more. Indiana seems to be scared of his own reflection in the water, and Scheme keeps taunting poor Charain. Other than that, everyone's getting along great, even though the empty space on my team is rather noticeable.

Anyway, onto the Union Cave now. I hope to make it through without any more casualties... R.I.P., Venom... you shall be missed greatly.

Current Team:**  
**_Quilava __'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.16**  
**_Spearow_ _'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.16**  
**_Ekans_ _'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.14**  
**_Gastly_ _'Scheme'_ Male, Lv.14**  
**_Togepi_ _'Charain'_ Male, Lv.10


	4. More Hardships

_**Danny's Journal, Part 4**__- More Hardships_

This whole trainer business is definitely a lot harder than it looks. Another member of my team passed away today... well, more like 'he went out with a bang'.

I was training Charain (my newly hatched Togepi) on a trainer outside the Union Cave. It was going well, his Pokemon were at much lower levels than mine. But then, Charain used Metronome again... and used Explosion.

Ugh, I was so stupid! This death really hit me hard, as it was mostly my fault... and Charain had been with me since he hatched not too long ago, and dying in one's infancy is just... horrible. I'm not giving up, though. I promised Elm I would take on the Gyms, and I will.

I got through Union Cave without many problems, thankfully. I got another member of my team, an Onix named Granite. He doesn't like to fight, and he seems to be happy enough just using his power to smash rocks, and I'm okay with that. When I got out of the cave, I caught another Ekans in the route before the next town. I named her Vipera, and I'll keep her in my PC box until I need her. Indiana seems to like her.

When I got to Azalea Town, however, I noticed a bunch of Team Rocket members walking around like they owned the place. I remember seeing them on the news from a few years ago when they were causing trouble in Kanto, but I thought they disbanded by now. Huh, weird. A few of the locals said they were doing something in the Slowpoke well in the town, and they also mentioned something about a Pokeball maker who lives on the edge of town.

I quickly found the Pokeball maker's house- Kurt is his name, apparently. He told me he isn't in the mood to make any balls (hurr hurr, balls), and then shouted something about Team Rocket and rushed out of his house. I followed him to the well, and found him lying at the bottom. He apparently fell down after chasing a Rocket member. Y'know, you shouldn't go jumping down wells after you're like... 50. Dumb old man.

I followed a path deeper into the well (damn this place was huge for a well), and found a bunch of Rocket members cutting off the Slowpokes' tails. Angry, I fought my way through them to get to the deepest part of the well, where who appeared to be their leader sat on a rock, surveying the other Rockets. He introduced himself as Proton, and he challenged me to a battle over the well. Cocky bastard. I won easily thanks to Scheme and Indiana. Kurt then caught up to me and took me to his house, where he gave me a Fast Ball as a gift.

I left the old man alone for now, taking a quick stop at the Pokemon center before going to check out the Gym. It was filled with spiderwebs, which creeped me out a bit, but Thorne took care of the trainers' Bug types fairly easily. I eventually made my way to Bugsy, the leader, and led with Vesuvius.

Scyther was the first Pokemon, and it went down surprisingly easy, thanks to Vesuvius' Ember (which caused a burn first off, thankfully). I switched to Thorne to finish off the last two Pokemon- a Kakuna and Metapod.

...What. Who has a Kakuna and Metapod and still manages to be a Gym Leader? At least have the courtesy to evolve to poor things... they got destroyed. I got the badge from Bugsy, and Thorne evolved thanks to the battle! Damn, he's impressive as a Fearow. Remind me to never make him mad.

After that, I left the Gym, and am now resting up at the center before heading off into the Ilex Forest. My team could use the rest, we've had a long and tiring day.

Come to think of it, I have no idea if Bugsy was a boy or a girl...

Current Team:_  
Quilava 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.20_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.20_  
Ekans 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.20_  
Gastly 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.19_  
Onix 'Granite'_ Male, Lv.9


	5. New Team Member

_**Danny's Journal, Part 5**__- New Team Member_

Not a whole lot has happened since my last entry, Gym-wise. I just got through the Ilex Forest, and I'm currently resting in the Pokemon center in Goldenrod before I check out the city tomorrow.

So, after defeating the Azalea Gym, I went into the Ilex Forest- or, rather, I tried to. I was stopped by ginger-head Silver, who apparently doesn't believe that I took out Team Rocket single-handed. And, being the dick that he is, he challenged me to a battle.

It wasn't too hard of a fight, he hasn't trained as much as I have, it seems. Scheme took out his Gastly (heck yeah for Night Shade), Vesuvius took out his Zubat, and Thorne took out his Croconaw. He got all pissy after I beat him, and he stormed off into the forest. I kinda feel bad for him, he probably has a reason for being angry all the time. Still, I think he's a huge asshole.

I finally set off into the forest, and encountered a male Weedle. I captured him, as he reminded me of Venom, and named him Lance. I kept him on my team for a little bit so I could evolve him into a Beedrill, but he's timid, and doesn't seem to like battling very much. I don't want to hurt him after what happened to Venom, so I'll use him for Cut and whatnot.

I had to go find some kid's Farfetch'ds that he lost in the forest, though, and the kid's supervisor (I guess, I think he was an apprentice) gave me the Cut HM. The kid then gave me a Charcoal, which I gave to Vesuvius. I cut down some trees that were blocking my way, picked up a few items, found a guy that taught Headbutt to a few of my Pokemon, and ran into another lady in a kimono again. I think they're stalking me.

After that, I got through the forest fairly easily. I ran into Lyra again by Goldenrod, and she showed me where the Daycare center was (on Route 34... go figure), and she gave me her number. I hope she doesn't bug me like Joey does. I also caught a Drowzee on that route and named him Pendulum. I'll put him in my PC box until I need him.

I didn't spend much time in Goldenrod, I instead went straight through to the route north of the city to look for new Pokemon. That's where I got the shock of my life. I figured a Nidoran would make a nice addition to my team, as they were common in the area, but the first Pokemon I saw nearly made me trip over Indiana's tail.

A shiny Yanma.

I freaked out. After a short battle and a couple Great balls later, though, it was mine. I named him Ao Tonbo, which literally means 'blue dragonfly' in Japanese. God, he's so awesome. He likes trying to nibble my feet, though. I'll have to fix that later (both the habit and my shoes).

Well, after some training, I figured I'd rest up before taking on the Goldenrod Gym. I also need to check out the city, it looks like a neat place.

...and if you'll excuse me, I need to stop Ao Tonbo from completely digesting my shoes.

Current Team:_  
Quilava 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.22_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.22_  
Ekans 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.21_  
Gastly 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.21_  
Shiny Yanma 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.17_  
Onix 'Granite'_ Male, Lv.11


	6. That Goddamn Miltank

_**Danny's Journal, Part 6**__- That Goddamn Miltank_

After taking a nice long rest at the Pokemon center, (and stopping by the Radio tower to get a radio card for my Pokegear) I went off to find the Gym. The trainers in the gym were easy enough, Vesuvius and Ao Tonbo took care of them. When I made it to Whitney, I led with Thorne, as I hoped his Aerial Ace would take her out quickly.

...Well, I was wrong.

Clefairy went down without a problem, but my Arceus. That Miltank. Ugh, I don't even know what to say. I mean, it wasn't like she was absolutely destroying my team, but she kept healing with Milk Drink nearly every turn, and it was pissing me off. I eventually switched over to Indiana, and he managed to paralyze her with Glare. A few Bites later and Miltank was down. Indiana even evolved because of it! This seems to be a trend- defeat Gym Leader, a member of my team evolves. Huh. Oh well, moving on.

I finally got the badge from Whitney after she stopped freaking crying. Jeez, these Gym leaders are so weird. Good, but... weird.

After resting up at the center, I went to check out the city. God, that place is huge compared to my hometown. It has a bike shop (I got a collapsible bike, it's pretty cool), an arcade (must not spend money...), an underground tunnel system, a radio tower, a trading station, a flower shop (I got a watering can from there. Joy), and a huge department store. Needless to say, me and my team spent most of the day just wandering around the city, taking a break from training. I lost Indiana and Scheme at one point, but later found them trying to hijack the vending machine from the department store. The managers were not pleased.

Later on in the day, we went north of Goldenrod to check out the national park. It's a very nice place, and has a beautiful fountain. It also has a lot of trainers, I got like 5 phone numbers from people in the park alone. I'm camping out here for the night, and I'll hopefully be off to the next town tomorrow.

And Thorne is currently barking at the moon. I'm very confused by this.

Current Team:_  
Quilava 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.25_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.25_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.25_  
Gastly 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.24_  
Shiny Yanma 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.24_  
Onix 'Granite'_ Male, Lv.11


	7. Onward to Ecruteak

_**Danny's Journal, Part 7**__- Onward to Ecruteak_

The National Park is a nice place to rest. I kinda prefer sleeping outside, at least in the nice weather. Anyway, after waking up, I gathered up my team and headed to Ecruteak City. On the way, I caught two Pokemon- a female Nidoran named Diana, and a male Stantler named Shishigami. I also got rid of a Sudowoodo that was blocking the path to Ecruteak, then finally made it to the town itself.

I stopped by the Pokemon center in Ecruteak before doing anything else, and I ran into a guy who said he basically invented the PC storage systems for Pokemon. He then told me if I was ever in Goldenrod to look him up, and then he left.

Interested, I took a trip back to Goldenrod to visit him. When I got to his house (it took me forever to find), he had a cute little Eevee bouncing around the place. He told me I could have her, as he wasn't a trainer and didn't know how to take care of her. I gladly adopted the Eevee, and named her Imani. Arceus, she was such a cutie.

I say 'was', because she isn't an Eevee anymore. After visiting the department store, buying some Calciums for her, and leveling up a bit; she evolved into an Espeon! I decided that would be a good time to train the rest of my team a bit, so I trained everyone for the rest of the day (Scheme also evolved into a Haunter while training), slept at the Goldenrod center, then headed back to Ecruteak earlier today.

The first thing I did was try to check out the Bell Tower, which was unfortunately closed to the public. So, I compromised and took a trip to the Burned Tower instead. Inside, I found two guys dressed in purple looking over the burned insides of the tower (two guys dressed in purple alone in a ruined building... sounds questionable). The one introduced himself as Eusine, the other as Morty, the town's Gym leader.

They then explained they were researching the Legendary Beasts of Johto. I looked down through a hole in the floor, and nearly fell down from the shock. Raikou, Entei, and Suicune were resting on the bottom floor. Ignoring the protests of Eusine and Morty, I set off to find the stairs... only to find Mr. Stalker-ginger-face Silver.

He started yelling at me, as usual... and I proceeded to kick his ass with Scheme and Vesuvius. His team was sadly underleveled compared to mine, and he ran away rather angrily. Ignoring him, I found the stairs and descended to the bottom floor.

As soon as I got down, the three Beasts noticed my presense and fled. However, Suicune, the Legendary Beast of the Wind, stayed locked in my gaze for a few seconds before Eusine stormed in. After Suicune fled, Eusine started gushing about how wonderful and glorious and beautiful Suicune was. Annoyed, I went up the stairs and left. He sounded just like Joey and his goddamn Rattata.

When I exited the tower, I saw a Team Rocket member run into one of the larger buildings (apparently some sort of dance studio), so I tailed him. He was harassing another Kimono lady over something, so I decided to play the knight in shining armor and rescue her. After making quick work of the Rocket member, the lady basically ignored me. How ungrateful. Some random guy in the crowd gave me the HM for Surf, though. After dragging Indiana out of there (he apparently wanted to dance), I healed up my team at the center and decided to challenge the town's gym.

I figured the gym would be a challenge, since it was Ghost-type and all... but oh my god. Imani just RAPED that Gym. It wasn't even a challenge. She just bounced around, taking out the Gastlys and Haunters (and Morty's Gengar) with Confusion, all with a cute little smile on her face. She's so adorable when she's slaughtering the undead.

So yeah, that badge was easily won. Morty wasn't pleased, but I'm on a roll here. Onward to Olivine city next! I'm eager to see the ocean for a change. Also, sorry for the long entry. Ecruteak is just an awesome place.

I am getting a bit creeped out because of Silver and those Kimono ladies, though. They follow me EVERYWHERE. I need to file a restraining order against Silver... I don't mind the ladies. Hurr hurr, boobies.

...Vesuvius just smacked me as I wrote that. I think she's jealous.

Current Team:_  
Quilava 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.30_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.29_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.29_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.29_  
Shiny Yanma 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.29_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.26


	8. Lighthouses, Oceans and Stalkers

_**Danny's Journal, Part 8**__- Lighthouses, Oceans, and Stalkers_

After leaving Ecruteak to go to Olivine City, I ran into a small male Meowth, whom I captured and nicknamed Merlin. He might come in handy if I decide to train him later. Nothing too interesting happened on that route, just defeated a few trainers and got their phone numbers.

Just as I was about to head South towards Olivine, however, I was stopped by some guy who noticed the Pokedex I was holding. He said he was originally from Kanto, and was trying to make a Safari Zone here in Johto, and then he gave me his number. I don't know why I seem to attract weird guys, but oh well. I just ignore them.

I did catch a cute female Farfetch'd before entering Olivine, though. I named her Xena, and I'll keep her in my PC box until I need another flier. Anyway, Olivine is a pretty big city, and it has a large port, as well. I let my team hang out down by the beach while I went to check out the city. The Gym was the first thing I noticed, so I headed in that direction to check it out, but a familiar figure exited through the sliding glass doors.

Silver.

I confronted him and accused him of stalking me. He said he would do no such thing, and that I was a weakling just like the Gym Leader of this town. Apparently, she was taking care of a sick Pokemon in the lighthouse, and hasn't been at the Gym for days. After Silver shoved past me, I picked up my team from the beach and headed in the direction of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse was fairly easy to climb (I had to use the stairs because Indiana apparently doesn't like elevators), even though I had to jump out through a hole in the wall to a lower level because one section's stairs were destroyed. They really need to get someone to repair that, I could've broken something. After fighting some trainers along the way, I made it to the top of the lighthouse, which was completely dark. I saw a young girl and an Ampharos in the center of the room.

The girl approached me, and asked me if I was a trainer. I said yes, and she asked me if I would run to Cianwood city to pick up some medicine for the Ampharos. The Pokemon's breathing was harsh, and it looked deathly sick. I agreed, of course, and after blindfolding Indiana so he could go in the elevator without freaking out, I went to the Pokemon center to get ready.

I then realized that I didn't have a Pokemon that could carry me across water. After finding a fisherman and borrowing his rod (God, that sounds wrong), I caught a Corsola, whom I named Dutchess. I quickly taught her Surf, then set off for Cianwood.

The ocean route to Cianwood was easy enough, although a couple swimmers tried to ambush me. Ao Tonbo took care of them, and I made it to Cianwood without a problem. I did pass by a set of islands surrounded by whirlpools, though. I might have to check that out later, it looks like a neat place.

After setting foot in Cianwood, I hightailed it to the local pharmacy. After explaining my situation to the manager, he gave me the strongest Potion he had- a Secretpotion. I thanked him and left, and was about to head back to Olivine before the Gym caught my eye.

It was a Fighting-type Gym. I have a Flying-type and a Psychic-type on my team.

Utter pwnage occurred.

So yeah, the gym wasn't that much of a problem. Chuck, the Gym Leader, didn't really seem like the Pokemon training type. I think he liked training his muscles more. With another badge in hand, I stopped by the center quickly to rest up before getting back to Olivine.

Suddenly, though, a blue and purple blur rushed past me. It stopped on the water and glanced back at me- it was Suicune! Its bright red eyes stared into mine for a few seconds before it dashed off across the ocean. As I stood still, marveling at the beast, I heard footsteps from behind me, and turned around.

Goddammit, Eusine. Stop stalking me.

He went into a rant about how Suicune was so beautiful for being able to run on water, then he got a serious look in his eyes and challenged me to a battle. Indiana took care of his Drowzee and Haunter pretty easily, and Scheme made quick work of his Electrode (hooray for Hypnosis). He didn't seem mad that I beat him though. He just ran off shouting about that Suicune. What a freak.

Now to finally head back to Olivine, after Ao Tonbo and Imani stop trying to bury Vesuvius with sand on the beach. Distractions, distractions, distractions...

Current Team:_  
Quilava 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.32_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.32_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.31_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.31_  
Shiny Yanma 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.31_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.31


	9. Boring town is boring

_**Danny's Journal, Part 9**__- Boring town is boring_

After getting the Fly HM from Chuck's wife, I taught it to Thorne and few on him back to Olivine. Flying is rather scary, but convenient, as I don't have to fight through hoards of wild Pokemon and trainers to get to another town.

Anyway, when I got to Olivine, I quickly went up the elevator to the top room to meet the Gym Leader and the Ampharos she was looking after. I gave the Secretpotion to her, and she fed the medicine to Ampharos. Almost immediately, its sickly appearance vanished, and its tail started glowing again. The girl thanked me, and introduced herself as Jasmine. She then left after making sure the Ampharos was okay to go back to her Gym.

I heard from some of the locals that her Gym was Steel-type, so I went into her Gym with Vesuvius in the lead. She effectively wiped out her whole team, the only Pokemon on Jasmine's team that gave her some trouble was her Steelix, but a few fire-attacks later, it was down and another badge was in hand.

I checked my Pokegear to see where I could go next, and Mahogany town seemed like my best bet. I flew to Ecruteak, and didn't feel like all the way through Mt. Mortar, so I just Surfed across the river to the other side. On a small island in the river, I was about to cut through some brush when something knocked me back and dashed off- it was Suicune again. Right on cue, Eusine came running up behind me, started shouting another monologe about Suicune, and then ran past, swimming across the river in the direction of Suicune.

My god, I have so many stalkers- Silver, the Kimono ladies, Eusine, and now Suicune. Do I have a sign on my back saying 'Stalk me; it's funny' or something? I swear, this is getting ridiculous.

I made it to Mahogany Town without much trouble, though. Well... there's not much there. Just a few buildings, the Pokemon center, and the Gym. The Gym is closed, and some guy is blocking the way to the next route, so the only way to go was north, towards the Lake of Rage. My radio also started glitching randomly when I walked towards the north, so I figured I would investigate.

There was a surprising amount of trainers out, seeing as the weather wasn't that great. It actually started storming as I was heading towards the lake. I did catch a female Mareep on the way, whom I named Raya. I'll train her later when I have the time, she's cute and I don't have an Electric-type yet. Ao Tonbo also evolved as we were training on the route, as well. He's now a Yanmega; and my Arceus, he's huge. He's taller than I am, and he's a freaking dragonfly. I fear for my poor shoes, they're bite-ridden as it is.

The lake itself was rather impressive, even though it was practically raining bullets. I talked with a guy standing near the edge of the lake, and he said that the Gyarados in the lake are mad because of a signal coming from Mahogany Town. Curious, I got on Dutchess and surfed out near the middle of the lake. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until a giant splash nearly knocked me out of the lake, and a giant Gyarados was suddenly staring me in the face.

Only thing was, it wasn't blue. It was red. Another shiny? Hell yes.

I sent out Indiana to combat this beast. He quickly used Glare to paralyze it, which helped slow the Gyarados down quite a bit. With a few bites, the Gyarados was weakened enough to throw an Ultra Ball... and it stayed in.

Heh, I'm beginning to wonder if shinies aren't that rare as they're supposed to be. Anyway, I named the Gyarados Denryuu, and I'll be training him as an addition to my team soon. I surfed back to the lake edge, and there was a guy in a cape with a huge Dragonite at his side, looking at the sign for the Lake of Rage. He also had bright red spiky hair. God, not another freaky ginger stalker.

He approached me, and said I looked like a competent trainer. He introduced himself as Lance, then explained that he was investigating the Lake because a mysterious radio signal coming from Mahogany was forcing all of the Magikarp in the Lake to evolve (apparently, the Red Gyarados I caught was a product of that experiment). I guess he was some sort of police officer or something.

Lance then asked me if I was interested in helping him infiltrate what he believes is a Team Rocket base in Mahogany town. I was shocked that he would ask me to do something of that caliber, but I quickly accepted. He thanked me for being willing to help him, then suggested that we meet early tomorrow at the Pokemon center in order to plan. He quickly left on his Dragonite, and I followed on Thorne.

I'm going to stop this entry here; I need my rest for tomorrow. My team is psyched, this is the biggest thing we've ever done. I just hope we don't screw it up...

Current Team:_  
Quilava 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.35_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.34_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.34_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.34_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.34_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.34


	10. Infiltrating the Rocket Hideout

_**Danny's Journal, Part 10**__- Infiltrating the Rocket Hideout_

I woke up early to get my team ready to help out Lance, and so I could eat a big breakfast. It would suck if I had to take a lunch break in the middle of a big mission. After I got my team all psyched up, I waited for Lance outside the Pokemon center like he said.

I nearly fell asleep waiting, he didn't show up for almost an hour. Vesuvius managed to shake me awake when she spotted Lance and his Dragonite going into a small building up the road from the center. I ran after him and entered the building just in time to see his Dragonite use a Hyper Beam on one of the shopkeepers there.

...What the hell? Who uses a Hyper Beam on a human, even if they did make you mad? I'm sure even a Tackle from that Dragonite would have sufficed... but oh well. Lance greeted me, and told me that the entrance to the Rocket hideout was somewhere in the building, and that the mysterious radio signal was definitely coming from here. We searched the room, and as I was checking out a desk, I heard a loud scraping noise from across the room. I turned around, and saw that Lance had moved a large bookshelf to reveal a flight of stairs descending into a basement. He motioned for me to follow, so I did (after making sure the poor shopkeeper was still alive. He seemed more stunned than anything).

The 'basement' turned out to be more of a high-tech maze of sorts. There were a lot of statues with motion sensors, and I was practically mobbed by Rocket members whenever I walked in front of one. I managed to find a room with a switch for the statues, though, so I made it through that floor with few problems.

I met up with Lance again on the second subfloor, and he healed up my Pokemon before he headed off to find the stairs again. On this floor, there was a sealed-off door I tried to get into, but it wouldn't budge. Even Indiana's Mud Bomb didn't do anything to it, so I headed off to the 3rd subfloor.

I found Lance interrogating another Rocket member (sheesh, what is it with this guy and forcefully interrogating people?), and he said that one of the Rocket executives was holed up somewhere in the base. The room he was in needed two passwords, though, and he left me the task of getting into the executive's room while he looked for a way to shut off the radio signal.

After tracking down and defeating all of the Rocket grunts that I could find on the floor, I managed to get the two passwords out of them- Raticatetail and Slowpoketail. Those are some weird passwords... but anyway, I went down a couple levels to where the boss' room was supposed to be, and of course, I ran into one of my stalkers again.

I wasn't even surprised when Silver showed up. He said he was trying to investigate the Rocket base as well, but apparently Lance thought he was with them and beat his ass. Heh, I'm not surprised. I ignored him and proceeded to break into the executive's room to confront him. He tried to intimidate me by dressing up as Giovanni, but I saw right through his disguise and proceeded to beat the crap out of him with Vesuvius. She even evolved because of the battle, and is now a kickass Typhlosion. Although she's almost as big as I am now, which creeps me out a bit. Why do my Pokemon evolve to be bigger than I am?

Anyway, before the guy ran off (apparently his name was Petrel), he told me the password to the power control room- 'Hail Giovanni'. It was useless to me, though, because he explained that the door to the room could only be opened with his voice. I spent a few minutes trying to imitate his voice before a Murkrow flew down from one of the shelves in the room and landed on my head. I flailed to get it off, and it cawed loudly at me. I asked it what it wanted, and it squawked 'Hail Giovanni' in a near-perfect imitation of Petrel's voice before flying off. Was it trying to help me?

I chased after the Murkrow, following it up to the second subfloor of the hideout. When it reached the door that was locked, it screamed the password to open it, then flew up and out of the hideout. I figured Lance was still trying to figure out how to get into this room, so I decided to sit around for a while with Thorne until he showed up.

After a while, Thorne tensed up and started acting nervous. That usually means something is happening, so I stood up and looked around. I heard a shout, and I jumped as another Rocket executive and a grunt came rushing at me. The executive was a pretty female redhead, but she had a bossy attitude that reminded me of my mother. Anyway, she and the grunt challenged me to a double battle, and I was about to take out Vesuvius when Lance charged out of nowhere to help me in the battle.

That was a quick battle, his Dragonite is pretty damn powerful. After they ran off, Lance went into the power control room to see how to turn the power supply off. Apparently, it didn't have any switches or buttons, just a bunch of Electrode hooked up to a generator to supply the power. He said that we would have to take out the Electrode in order to turn it off, even though neither of us wanted to do that. After we knocked them out, the power in the building shut off, which made the radio signal stop. Lance thanked me for my help, and gave me the HM for Whirlpool as a reward. He then told me to keep up with the good work, and left with his Dragonite.

When I exited the base, the sun had almost set. I decided to go back to the Pokemon center for the night and rest up for when I take on the Mahogany town Gym tomorrow. It's an Ice-type Gym, so Vesuvius should take it down with no problem.

Speaking of her, I think she's trying to give the team a pep-talk. Scheme seems to be mad that she's now taller than him, so he's trying to gnaw on her tail. It's rather adorable.

Current Team:_  
Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.36_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.36_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.36_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.36_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.36_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.36


	11. Team Rocket Takeover?

_**Danny's Journal, Part 11**__- Team Rocket Takeover?_

I got up bright and early this morning to get my team ready to challenge the Mahogany Gym. They didn't seem too pleased, but I was so excited I couldn't help myself. I bought them a large breakfast and they seemed to forgive me.

The Gym itself was rather confusing- its floor was frozen, and I had to slide across the icey tiles in order to get to the gym leader, Pryce. He was probably amused at me slipping and sliding all over the place, that damn geezer. I finally got to the platform where he stood, though, and I challenged him to a battle.

I thought Vesuvius could handle his team alone, but I was mistaken. He used a Seel and Dewgong, so I switched out Vesuvius for Imani, who took care of them without much problem. I switched back to Vesuvius for his Piloswine, and she knocked it out with one Lava Plume. So that was one more badge that I acquired, and I'm only one more badge away for qualifying to challenge the Pokemon League! My team seems to share my excitement.

Although, lately I've noticed that my team has been having a little bit of trouble with battles, possibly because of the more difficult and skilled opponents. I took this opportunity to train around the Lake of Rage, so I hopefully won't have any casualties in the near future.

In the middle of my training session, though, I got a phone call from Professor Elm. I didn't really understand what he was saying, there was static and he was talking rather fast. I did hear him say something about Team Rocket on the radio before the call cut out on me. I booted up the radio app on my Pokegear, and sure enough, there was a radio announcement talking about Team Rocket. Had they hijacked the radio tower?

I sent out Thorne and made a beeline for Goldenrod City as soon as the announcement was over. It was rather obvious that something had happened, I saw nobody except Team Rocket grunts in the streets of the city. I nearly got attacked by a group of them, but Indiana helped me sneak into the underground to evade them. If this kept up, I wouldn't be able to even get near the radio tower, let alone get inside.

I was about to exit the other side of the underground before I was approached by another Rocket grunt. Indiana was getting ready to attack him, before we realized that he thought I was a new Team Rocket recruit. I played along with the conversation, and he ended up giving me a Rocket uniform to 'replace the one I lost'. Heh, I love conning people out of things.

With my new uniform, it was super-easy to get into the radio tower. I was just talking with one of the grunts who would allow me to go upstairs when I got tackled by someone who sounded very familiar.

Goddammit, Silver, why do you have to stalk me everywhere?

I tried to hide my face, but he unfortunately recognized me. He accused me of taking the cowardly approach to attacking the radio tower, and then he proceeded to rip off my Rocket uniform.

...Yeah, I'm not even going to comment. Luckily I was wearing my regular clothes underneath, I wouldn't appreciate being stripped naked in public. Thanks to Silver's sudden forced strip tease, though, I got attacked by the Rocket member I was trying to talk to. I easily beat him, and after ditching Silver, I proceeded to go to the upper floors of the radio tower.

The place was swarming with Rocket members, and I managed to take care of most of them. I had to take a couple trips back to the Pokemon center because my team kept getting poisoned, but I finally made it to the director's room. He was talking about 'the glory of Team Rocket' before I interrupted him. Turns out, he wasn't the actual director; he was Petrel- the Rocket executive from the Mahogany base. After some forced questioning, he revealed that the real director was being held captive in the underground, and he then challenged me to a battle.

He really needs to raise a better team; it consisted of five Koffings and one Weezing. Imani and Vesuvius made quick work of them. After he was defeated, he nearly escaped, but I knocked him out with a punch to his face. I went through his pockets until I found a large key ring- one of them probably worked the locked doors in the underground.

I'm currently taking a quick break at the Pokemon center before we go off to rescue the director. The radio is still spouting nonsense about Team Rocket, and Ao Tonbo is trying to eat it. I don't think he likes Team Rocket that much. Either that or he's just hungry.

Current Team:_  
Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.40_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.39_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.39_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.39_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.39_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.39


	12. Rockets in the Underground

_**Danny's Journal, Part 12**__- Rockets in the Underground_

After that quick break at the center, I gathered my team to head into the underground to search for the radio tower's director. Turns out that the door that one of the keys I stole from Proton was for a door at the south end of the underground. Only when I got there, I found another one of those kimono ladies blocking the way.

I tried to sound suave when I said hi to her, but it probably came across awkward as usual, because she giggled at me. After a short conversation, she mentioned something about a legendary Pokemon, and left abruptly. I think Thorne caught me staring at her butt as she was leaving, because he smacked me over the head with his wing. Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

Anyway, I unlocked the door for the underground's basement (an underground for the underground, that's a bit redundant) and headed downstairs. I didn't get far before I was stopped by Silver yet again. I've stopped being surprised when he randomly shows up, although he did surprise me by openly admitting to stalking me. Apparently he has some thing against Lance, because he was tailing me to see if Lance showed up so he could battle him. He was pissed that he didn't find him, so he challenged me to a battle instead.

Big mistake on his part. Well, not so big, I did have some trouble with his Sneasel and newly-evolved Feraligatr. But I did defeat his team with everyone's help in the end. After I beat him, he asked me if having love and trust towards his Pokemon was really what he lacked. I answered honestly and told him that it wouldn't hurt to try, and he thanked me before he ran off. I wonder if he's starting to have a change of heart? I sure hope so. I'm getting kind of annoyed with him stalking me.

Gah, enough distractions. Let's get back on track here. Well, the basement turned out to be a system of sliding doors that opened differently when you pushed a different combination of buttons on a control panel in the center room. After some time (mostly spent defeating some thieves and Rocket grunts that were down there) and some help from Thorne, I managed to get the correct combination that allowed me to move on.

The second part of the basement was filled with huge packing crates and cardboard boxes, which I kept tripping over and attracting the unfortunate attention of the Rockets who were down there. I managed to drive them off, and after navigating through the maze of boxes, I found the director handcuffed and tied to one of the crates in a small room.

I untied him, and he thanked me before asking what was going on outside. After I informed him of the situation in the radio tower, he agreed to help me, and gave me a card key that apparently gives me access to another part of the tower. He begged me to help drive the Rockets away from the tower, because they could possibly use the tower to broadcast signals to hurt or control Pokemon nationwide. I told him I would help, and he seemed relieved. Honestly, I just can't stand the thought of Team Rocket controlling Pokemon at all, and that was my main drive in taking this mission in the first place.

The director and I found a shortcut to get out of the underground (which lead to the basement of the department store in Goldenrod, go figure), and we parted ways as I went to heal my team up quickly before taking on the tower again. My team is getting anxious while we're waiting in the center; Vesuvius and Scheme are twitchy, and Imani seems a lot more nervous than she usually is. It's never a good sign when she's nervous. That usually means that something bad is going to happen, or she's going to start tackling others for food. I don't know which is worse, to be honest.

Current Team:_  
Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.40_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.40_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.39_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.39_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.39_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.39


	13. Taking Back the Tower

_**Danny's Journal, Part 13**__- Taking Back the Tower_

I went back to the radio tower again, and found the door that the director's card key went to on the 3rd floor. On the floor above that, I found Proton, one of the Rocket admins I saw a while ago back in the Slowpoke well in Azalea Town. Get this- he actually accused me of stalking him. I've had... what? Four, maybe five stalkers? I think I'm an expert on the subject by now, so I know I definitely wasn't stalking him. He probably just said that to stroke his ego.

But yeah, he went down without much of a fight thanks to Indiana. He's been getting better at battling lately, I'm proud of him. After kicking Proton's butt, though, I headed to the upper floors, and found yet another Rocket admin blocking the hallway leading to an elevator.

She was the ginger executive from the Mahogany base, and her name was apparently Ariana. God, she's creepy. She kept giggling about how I was all alone with nobody else to help me, then she practically pounced at me to attack. Ugh, I know she was probably referring to how me and Lance double-battled her and that grunt back at the base, but it's still creepy.

I led with Scheme, and he took out her Arbok easily with Hypnosis and Dream Eater. Her Murkrow wasn't much of a challenge, either, but her Vileplume made him fall asleep with Sleep Powder. I switched out to Ao Tonbo, who finished up the battle nicely with a couple of Shadow Balls.

Ariana accepted defeat without much of a problem, saying that it was a shame that my 'skills' couldn't be put to better use. She also said that their boss was up in the observation deck past her, and that I should be prepared to get my butt handed to me. She got a face-full of dragonfly tail for that one, Ao Tonbo wasn't very happy with her.

After Ariana fled, I took the elevator up to the tower's observation deck. It was a large room with glass windows all around, which showed that it was already nighttime outside. I found the supposed Rocket 'boss' looking over Goldenrod City- he was some blue-haired guy who looked to be in his 20's, with a haughty sneer on his face and a fancy white jacket.

He introduced himself as Archer and congratulated me on getting this far, but he said his plans were almost complete. Apparently, he and the other executives had gathered all the followers they could to take over the radio tower to announce their comeback, just so they could try to get their actual boss out of hiding so they could restore themselves to their former glory. Heh, they never really had any glory if you ask me. Long story short, though, I challenged him to a battle over the radio tower. Ao Tonbo seemed anxious to help me bring down this guy, so I let him lead this fight.

Sheesh, he must have been pretty mad at Team Rocket, because he took out Archer's whole team without any trouble at all. That's saying something, because Archer had a Houndour and Houndoom on him team, which were both fire-types. I'm sure they felt pretty bad about getting beaten by a bug-type.

Archer was pretty beaten up over his loss, though. He went into a rant about how he wasn't up for the challenge, and that he would disband Team Rocket again, just like Giovanni did three years ago. And with that, he just... left.

I stayed up at the observation deck for a while with my team just to look out over the city. It seemed like not too long ago that I was here, just starting out on my adventure. Now I'm close to challenging the Pokemon League, and I disbanded Team Rocket? It almost seems like a dream, but it's a reality, and reality is awesome. Team Rocket was kind of a pushover, though. They probably would have been better with an actual boss to lead them.

Anyway, the director of the radio tower came up to find me after a little while, and he thanked me for taking care of the Rockets. He then gave me some sort of silver feather as a reward. Apparently, there was another tower in Goldenrod before the radio tower was built, and that feather was found at the top of that tower before the tower was destroyed. It might also be tied to a legend about the Whirl Islands, he said. I thanked him for it, I might check out the Whirl Islands if I have the time.

He also said that Goldenrod was throwing a party for me as a 'thank-you' gift for getting rid of Team Rocket. A party means drinks, food, music, and girls, so where do you think I went? So yeah, me and my team spent the rest of the night partying in the streets of Goldenrod with the locals. It was loads of fun, and a nice break from training and fighting evil teams.

I'm currently writing this as I watch Vesuvius and Imani attempt to hijack some bicycles from the bike shop, and Indiana and Scheme are off somewhere looking for more people to prank. They already glued some guy's shoes to a flagpole and set off the sprinkler system in the department store. I'm just sitting back with Thorne and Ao Tonbo to watch the madness, and to guard the food (and innocent passerby).

So yeah, I'll get back to training tomorrow. Or the day after. Or when my team stops being crazy. Whichever comes first. (Probably the latter, I know I won't find Scheme for at least another few hours. Anyway, I'm off to talk to this cute girl who just walked by... oh wait, that was Silver. Never mind. Damn nighttime and its lack of light.)

Current Team:_  
Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.40_  
Fearow 'Thorne'_ Male, Lv.40_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.40_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.39_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.40_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.39


	14. Onward to Blackthorn

_**Danny's Journal, Part 14**__- Onward to Blackthorn_

I woke up pretty late this morning, it was nearly noon when I got my team together to head out. The party last night was a blast, though, and despite being a little tired, I was feeling great, and my team seemed to be sharing my good emotions.

After looking at the map on my Pokegear, I decided to head for Blackthorn City, since the final Gym was there, and I needed one more badge in order to challenge the Pokemon League. I got on Thorne and flew to Mahogany Town, then headed out on Route 44.

There weren't many trainers on that route, but I easily defeated those that were on there. I also caught a Weepinbell that I found in a small patch of grass in the middle of a pond, and I named her Venus. I'll leave her in my PC box until I need her.

At the far end of Route 44, I found an opening in the mountain that led to a large, frozen cave. There didn't seem to be any other way to get to Blackthorn City, so I decided to take the cave route. My Arceus, it was cold in there. I could see my breath, and even with a couple layers of jackets, I was still cold. Thankfully I had Vesuvius to keep me warm, I could have gotten hypothermia or something.

There was a lot of places where the ground was frozen, so I kept slipping everywhere and crashing into rocks. I had a bit of practice with this from the Mahogany Gym, though, so I managed to get past the frozen floors. I also found the HM for the move Waterfall lying around, apparently someone dropped it on the ice. Oh well, finders keepers, I guess.

But yeah, I made it through the cave after a couple hours of walking and training. I did catch a Swinub I found nosing around (I named him Everest), and I found a couple of stat-boosting items that will come in handy, but nothing much else happened.

Oh, I did run into another one of my kimono lady stalkers, though. Her sandals were frozen to the floor, so she had me push her to get her un-stuck. She was pretty, but apparently lacked in the brains department, because who wears sandals into a frozen cave? Seriously?

Thankfully, the exit of the cave that I found led right to Blackthorn City, because I don't think I could stand walking through another route with frozen toes. I quickly defrosted at the Pokemon center with my team, who seemed thankful to get out of that cave. I don't think Indiana likes the cold much, he's trying to huddle with Vesuvius in a corner to keep warm. Poor guy.

After resting up, I took a quick tour of the town before trying to find the Gym. The city seemed to be built into the cliffside, and the Gym was right at the top of the town. It was a little bit of a climb to get up there, but the view was worth it. I could actually see my hometown from there!

Anyway, inside of the final Gym was all lava. It was a nice break from the ice cave, but maybe too much of a break. It was boiling hot in there! And to make it worse, the Gym had moving platforms I had to cross in order to get to the leader. I had to be careful not to fall, or they'd have to send me home to my mom in a matchbox.

I finally made it to the Gym Leader, though, who was surprisingly a young woman. I kinda expected some old guy, living in a town like this. Her name was Clair, and she had a very self-confident air about her. She didn't scare me, though, so I challenged her for my final badge.

I led with Scheme, and he took out her Gyarados quite nicely with a couple of Shadow Balls. He got Paralyzed and hurt rather badly by her first Dragonair, though (damn Dragon Rage), so I had to switch out to Thorne. Surprisingly he kicked her two Dragonairs' butts, Fly is actually a very handy move in battle. He barely got a scratch from that battle, so I kept him out to face her final Pokemon- Kingdra.

I hadn't battled or even seen a Kingdra before, so I had no idea what to expect. I had him use Fly again, which seemed to strike Kingdra pretty hard. It healed itself using a berry, though, and retaliated with a Hydro Pump attack. Thorne thankfully dodged it, and he took off another chunk of Kingdra's health with another Fly attack. Clair seemed to be getting mad, and she had Kingdra charge up a Hyper Beam to attack Thorne.

I ordered Thorne to dodge, but he didn't get out of the way in time. The energy beam caught him squarely in the chest, and he nearly fell into the lava before I returned him.

Okay, that damn Kingdra was going down. Nobody hurts Thorne and gets away with it.

I sent out Imani to deal the final blow. It only took one Psybeam to knock it out, it was already weak from using up so much energy on the Hyper Beam.

It was over. I had done it, I had beaten all eight Gym Leaders, and I was heading to the Elite Four!

...Well, I thought I was done. Apparently, Clair doesn't think I'm worthy of her badge, so she's having me go to the Dragon's Den in back of the Gym to take a test from the elder of the town. Heh, it should be a piece of cake, as long as it doesn't involve math. I hate math.

Remembering that my team needed healing, I rushed back to the Pokemon center to rest. As my team was in the healing room, though, one of the nurses came out to speak with me. As it turns out, Kingdra's Hyper Beam had done severe damage to Thorne... much more severe than I thought. It had cracked most of his ribs, and he had a punctured lung and internal bleeding. If I had brought him right to the center after the injury had happened, they might have been able to save him, but...

...He wasn't going to make it.

I told the nurses to leave me alone for a few minutes before they euthanized him. I apologized to him over and over, telling him how sorry I was, and how stupid I was to have sent him out against that Kingdra, but he squawked to shut me up. He had a strange look in his eyes, one that I don't think I'll forget soon. It wasn't hopelessness, doubt, fear, or anything like that. He was accepting his fate, and I'm sure he was silently telling me to go on and accept mine. I would bet my life on it.

With a final hug around his neck, I told the nurses I was ready. They administered the shot... and within a minute, Thorne was gone.

I took him up to the top of the mountain to bury his body, along with my team. They knew what had happened, and even the usually-happy Scheme seemed sad. I found a nice spot under a lone tree that got a great view of the region. He would have liked that.

Vesuvius and Indiana helped me dig his grave, and I placed him in the hole with great care. I placed his Pokeball on top of his chest and muttered a few prayers to Arceus before covering the grave over with dirt.

It then seemed to hit me full-force what had just happened. I lost Thorne, the first Pokemon I had ever caught in the wild; the one who had helped me win so many badges, and even defeat Team Rocket. I had lost a team member... and a close friend.

I don't think I have ever cried so hard. I cried until the sun started to sink below the horizon, and I'm currently writing this as I watch the sun set.

This is for you, Thorne. I won't give up. I promise to try my best, enjoy life, and not make any more stupid mistakes; and someday, I will be Champion. Until then, rest in peace, my friend. You deserve it.

Current Team:_  
Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.40_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.40_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.41_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.40_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.41


	15. Another Shiny Surprise

_**Danny's Journal, Part 15**__- Another Shiny Surprise_

It was already nightfall by the time I got back to Blackthorn City. Thorne's death still weighed heavily on my mind, and I kind of just felt like curling up into a ball and sleeping for weeks. I knew I couldn't, though, so I set off for the Dragon's Den after making a quick stop at the Pokemon center.

I withdrew Denryuu, my shiny Gyarados, from my PC box so I would have a Pokemon to surf on. The entrance to the Dragon's Den was right in back of the Gym, across a small pond. The Den was apparently an underground lake, and a large shrine was built right in the middle of the lake itself. There wasn't much light, the only source of light in the cave was a small hole in the ceiling that let some moonlight filter in.

As I surfed across the lake on Denryuu, I noticed many Pokemon swimming below me. Most of them were Magikarp, and since I already had a Gyarados, I just ignored them and went on my way. After I crossed a small whirlpool blocking my path, though, I spotted something swimming up ahead.

It was a Dratini! I told Denryuu to swim closer so I could try to catch it, but then I noticed something was off. All of the Gym trainers' Dratinis were blue... this one was a bright purple that stood out like a sore thumb in the dark waters.

I swear to Arceus I have the best luck ever. I didn't even bother battling it; it looked young, and not all that powerful. I threw a Dusk Ball at it, waited patiently... and heard the telltale 'click' of the Pokeball.

So yeah, I caught a shiny Dratini! I was very excited, but I had to wait until I got out of the Den to go retrieve it from my PC, so I just made a beeline for the dragon shrine to find the elder Clair told me about.

The inside of the shrine was decorated with murals about dragon Pokemon, and it was lit by a few torches. At the back of the shrine was Clair with a bunch of old guys, and I figured that the oldest man was the elder. He approached me, and said that Clair informed him of my arrival just a few minutes ago. Apparently, he needed to test me to see if I was worthy of acquiring Clair's badge.

I thought I would have to battle him, but the 'test' was just a quiz. He asked me questions like 'what are Pokemon to me', and 'what is the most necessary element in training a Pokemon'. I answered them honestly, and after a few minutes of questioning, he said that I had passed.

Clair was pissed off at this, and she started throwing a hissy fit as to how I 'cheated', because she hadn't even passed yet. The elder shut her up, though, and she reluctantly handed me my last badge before leaving.

Finally, after going through all of that, I got all eight badges! I gave all of my team members a big hug, and sent a mental thank-you to Thorne; because without them, I wouldn't have made it this far. I'm almost ready to challenge the Elite Four, and with my team's help, I know I can become Champion.

Clair was waiting for me at the exit of the Den, and she apologized for putting me through that test. She even gave me a TM as an apology (Dragon Pulse, I'll teach it to my shiny Dratini when I get it out of my PC), and told me the way to get to the Elite Four. I have to go east at New Bark Town, then continue on that path until I reach the Indigo Plateau gates. Sounds like a long hike, but I'll make it somehow. She wished me the best of luck, then headed back to her Gym.

I ran back to the center to check on my Dratini. She's female, and a very young one, by the looks of it. She's adorable, and very sweet. I taught her the move Dragon Pulse, which was probably a mistake. She nearly took my head off with it, because she thought she was playing with me. I can't stay mad at her, though, she's too cute. I named her Lady Luck, by the way, since it was pure luck that I found her in the first place.

I was just about to head out again when Elm called me, saying that he had something for me. Since Thorne was... gone, I didn't have a flier on my team anymore. Thankfully, I had a Farfetch'd (Xena) that I caught a while ago, so I'm using her to fly me from town to town when I don't feel like walking. How a tiny Farfetch'd can carry a human, though, is beyond me.

I made it to New Bark Town without much trouble, and Elm was waiting for me in his lab. along with Lyra. Lyra was amazed that I got all eight badges, and Elm was just as pleased. He even gave me a Master Ball as a gift- I haven't even seen one until now, they're supposed to be really rare.

He did say something interesting, though. Apparently, the kimono ladies who have been stalking me just came into his lab looking for me. I wonder what they want, although I hope they'll tell my why they've been following me all over Johto.

It's like 1:00 in the morning now, though, so I'm going to find the kimono ladies in the morning. I went home to my mom for the night, and she was very happy to see me. I finally had a home-cooked dinner for a change! She even cooked extra for my Pokemon, which was nice of her.

It's good to be back home, though, even if it's just for one night. I'd better get to sleep now, once I get Indiana and Lady Luck to stop fighting over my bed. They'll put a hole in my wall at this rate, and mom won't be very happy with that...

Current Team:_  
Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.40_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.40_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.41_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.40_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.41_  
Shiny Dratini 'Lady Luck'_ Female, Lv.16


	16. A Legendary Encounter

_**Danny's Journal, Part 16**__- A Legendary Encounter_

I left New Bark Town early this morning, so I could get a head start on going to Ecruteak City to meet the kimono ladies. I had no idea why they wanted me, so I took a detour to train my team up a little bit more. If they challenged me to a battle, I wanted to be ready. It also gave me a good chance to train Lady Luck, since I haven't battled with her since I caught her.

I know dragon-types are supposed to be powerful, but damn, Luck is a tank, and an epic tank at that. It only took half the day to evolve her into a Dragonair (she looks even more awesome now with a bright purple-pink body and gold gems), and her moves are incredibly powerful. She's taken a liking to me, apparently- she keeps trying to hug me when I'm trying to train my other team members. It's cute, but it's kind of annoying.

Anyway, it was nearly nightfall when I made it to Ecruteak City. I took a quick rest stop at the Pokemon center, and arrived at the ladies' dance theater just in time to see Silver get kicked out. He saw me and basically wished me good luck, since he couldn't even beat the ladies in a battle. After Silver stormed off, Vesuvius gave me a nod, and I entered the theater.

All five kimono ladies were waiting in the theater. One of the ladies, Zuki, explained that they needed someone with the right bond with Pokemon to awaken the legendary Pokemon Lugia. They were the ones who gave the Togepi egg to Mr. Pokemon in the first place, apparently (I didn't tell them that the Togepi who hatched from that egg was dead... I don't think they would be too pleased). It was handed to me because I showed potential, and the ladies followed me around the region to keep track of my progress.

Well, I'm glad I know why they were stalking me in the first place. Although I would rather that they were following me because they thought I was cute. Oh well.

Zuki then said that her and the other ladies needed to test me to see if I was worthy of facing Lugia. Facing five ladies in a battle in order to summon a giant sea creature? ...Sure, I'm game.

They turned out to be a lot more skilled than I thought they would be. Each one had a different evolved form of Eevee, so it was a bit of a challenge to beat them all. Ao Tonbo, Vesuvius, and Luck eventually took care of all of them. After I defeated the final one, Zuki said that I was indeed the person they were waiting for, and handed me some sort of bell as a reward.

A bell? I was skeptical at first, but the bell seemed really old, and seemed to glow with life as I took it in my hands. I thanked the ladies and was about to leave when what sounded like a roar shook the building. Not a second later, a little girl came in and whispered something to Zuki. After the girl left, Zuki said that they would meet me at the Whirl Islands, and quickly left with the rest of the ladies.

I was confused, but I decided to follow them anyway. I had to stop at the center to heal up my team, so I used the PC there to switch up my team a bit. I deposited Indiana and Imani for the time being, and took Denryuu (my red Gyarados) and Lance (my Beedrill) out of the PC. Denryuu knows Surf and Whirlpool, whereas Lance knows Flash, and I needed all of those field moves to get through the islands. After healing up and spending some money on repels, my team was raring to go. Vesuvius was nearly bouncing with anticipation.

I flew to Cianwood on my Farfetch'd, but put her in the PC once I got there. The surf to the islands wasn't that bad thanks to the repel, but choosing the right island to go into was a pain in the butt. A couple of the islands' entrances led to blocked off tunnels, and a couple were just dead ends or tunnels that continued for ages. With the help of Scheme and Ao Tonbo, though, I eventually found the right path that led underground (Or would that be undersea? Something like that) to Lugia's chamber.

I have to say, I thought the Johto region was beautiful, but it had nothing on this. A huge, icy-blue waterfall that emitted a mysterious glow was at the end of a large cavern, with large pillars of rocks that lined the edges of the cave. I could have stayed there for days admiring the view, but I then noticed that all five kimono ladies were already there waiting for me.

They thanked me for coming, and Zuki explained that they had been practicing a ceremonial dance for this occasion. Combined with the sound of the bell they gave me and a feather from Lugia's wing, it would summon the legendary Lugia back to its lair. That must have been the silver feather that the radio tower's director had given me. Huh, I wonder if he knew what powers it possessed. Would he have given it up otherwise?

Anyway, I took both items out of my backpack, and the ladies prepared for the ritual. A couple got out flutes while the rest got in place for the dance. As they started to dance, the waters around the waterfall seemed to rise and fall with the tempo of their music. Even the spray from the waterfall itself seemed to twirl in the air to the beat. I also noticed a couple of golden bells tied to pillars on either side of the raised platform we were on, since they started to glow and ring along with my bell. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold, and I don't say that too often (mostly because it sounds weird for a guy like me to say that, but I digress).

The dance went on for a few minutes, and I thought it had failed until I heard a low rumble from deep within the cavern. The ladies stopped dancing as the rumbling grew louder, and waterfall suddenly started glowing brightly. The rumbling increased to a deafening roar, and the waterfall suddenly seemed to explode with a great force- water flew everywhere, and I had to shield my eyes from the spray. I only opened my eyes when I heard a familiar roar, and I nearly fainted at the sight.

The legendary Pokemon Lugia was hovering over the waterfall. Its silver feathers glowed with a mysterious light (similar to that of the waterfall), and its eyes were focused on me alone. I stood still, marveling at the majestic creature. Vesuvius seemed just as shocked as I was.

I guess the kimono ladies had left it up to me to choose what I should do with Lugia. Well, the only thing I could think of was to challenge it to a battle, and I was well prepared to do so.

I sent out Ao Tonbo to face the beast at first. He didn't do too badly, he successfully wore it down with little difficulty. However, a strong Aeroblast from Lugia nearly knocked him unconscious, so I had to switch to Scheme. His Hypnosis has come in handy in the past, and it was definitely helpful now. He was able to put Lugia to sleep and whittle its health down so I could try to capture it. The least nearly woke up a couple times, but Scheme re-hypnotized it and continued to attack.

Well, it was now or never. I decided that if I ran out of Pokeballs that I would just knock out Lugia, since I don't really know what else I would do in that situation. Dealing with a pissed off sea creature probably isn't that fun.

Not that I expected that catching a legendary Pokemon would be easy, but damn, Lugia really doesn't like staying in those balls. I went through my entire collection of Ultra Balls and half of my Great Balls in only a few minutes. Just as I was about to give up, I threw a Great Ball, it floated in the water for a few seconds... and I heard that telltale click.

Holy crap holy crap holy crap, I just caught Lugia. A legendary Pokemon. Yeah, I'm officially awesome.

The kimono ladies thanked me afterwards for being able to witness the event, and they told me to say hello to Professor Elm when I saw him. I said I would, and Zuki even gave me a hug as a goodbye. I'll cherish that moment forever.

As I surfed back to Cianwood, I decided that I really didn't need a legendary Pokemon on my team. My Pokemon are awesome enough as it is, and Lugia would make this journey way too easy. When I got back, I got Lugia out of my PC, and released it outside by the ocean. It looked at me for a long time before nodding and diving back into the ocean.

The weather is really nice tonight, so me and my team are sleeping outside. Me, Indiana, Scheme, and Ao Tonbo are all huddled around Vesuvius for warmth as Luck and Imani play in the shallows of the ocean. I'm not looking forward with having to cuddle with a soaking wet Espeon later, but hey, at least I have a fire-type to keep me company.

Well... I guess tomorrow I should start heading over to the Pokemon League. The prospect of facing the Elite Four scares me a bit, but I hope I'll do well. I promised my mom, Elm, Lance, and Thorne that I would become Champion, and I will. Mark my words.

Current Team:

_Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.44_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.44_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.44_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.45_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.44_  
Shiny Dragonair 'Lady Luck'_ Female, Lv.44


	17. The Road to the Elite Four

_**Danny's Journal, Part 17**__- The Road to the Elite Four_

I still love sleeping outside, I always wake up early and refreshed. After getting all of my stuff together and having breakfast, I flew over to Cherrygrove to get my team ready to take on the road to the Elite Four. I knew I had to take my shiny Gyarados, Denryuu, with me; since he was the only one out of my team who knows Surf and Waterfall. So I left Indiana in the PC for the time being.

After making it to New Bark Town, I rode on Denryuu over to the entrance to Tohjo Falls. It was pretty dark and damp in there, but we managed to get through there easily. After reaching the other side, though, I got a glimpse at exactly what I was striving towards.

I could just manage to see the Indigo Plateau from where I was, all the way at the top of a huge mountain, with what looked like an extremely treacherous rocky path leading up to it. With Mt. Silver looming in the back, it was a very intimidating view indeed.

But I knew we would make it. So, we set off for the summit.

As I suspected, the trail was chock full of high-level wild Pokemon and very skilled trainers fighting for the same goal that I was. It proved to be quite a challenge for me and my team (especially Scheme, the poor guy kept getting beat up), and I had to take a break after a while in order to rest up. We chose a secluded area shaded by some trees, where we wouldn't be targeted by trainers for a fight.

Vesuvius seems to be worried about me, she's been keeping a rather close eye on me ever since Thorne's death. I can't blame her, really- I have been rather depressed since the incident. Hey, anyone would be. I promised her that I would be fine, though, and that I just needed everyone to try their best on the road ahead. That cheered her up, and she went back to relaxing with her teammates.

...I guess I kind of fell asleep, because I woke up to Imani fighting with Lady Luck over one of my Oran Berries, and she stepped on my face in the process. What a way to wake up. I was glad that she woke me up, though, because I had a rather bad nightmare. I don't remember most of it, but I do remember being very cold, and I was flying on Ao Tonbo, with my team below me... only that they were all dead, and their blood had stained the ground red.

I tried to shake it off, it was only a dream, after all. To keep my mind off it, I gathered my things and continued the trek up the mountain to the Indigo Plateau. Sure enough, that did the trick- my team got some serious training from battling all of the trainers and wild Pokemon along the way, and we were as psyched as ever.

And finally, after spending most of the day climbing and training, we made it to the gates of the Indigo Plateau.

I had to get ID'd at the check-in point, and my badges were all checked to make sure they were legal. After going through that, I was cleared to make the trek through Victory Road. Steeling my nerves, I took a deep breath, and raced onward.

Heh, it's not called Victory Road for nothing. After getting through a place like that, you should feel victorious. It seemed like a normal cave, but it was a maze of boulders and pitfall traps that had me and my team confused for a long time. The wild Pokemon didn't help, either, although I did manage to catch an Ursaring that looked about ready to kill something. I named her Sasha, and I'll keep her in my box until I'm looking for someone to maul me to death.

After a couple hours of wandering around in the dark, I finally saw a sign pointing the way towards the final stretch of the cave. Excited, I ran towards the exit...

...only to find someone blocking my path.

And of course, it was my favorite ginger stalker, Silver.

To be honest, I wasn't surprised to see him there. He was apparently waiting for me, because he said that I needed a 'real trainer' to test me to see if I was truly ready to face the league or not. I grinned, this was the first time he hasn't been a complete dick about challenging me. Looking over towards Vesuvius, she gave me a nod before igniting her flames.

Oh, it was on. Time to show this guy that I mean business once and for all.

Silver has gotten a lot better since I first met him, I'll give him that. His team gave mine a run for their money, especially that Feraligatr of his. But, in the end, I defeated him as usual. He didn't seem angry that he lost, though. He just smiled and wished me good luck before walking back the way I came.

I think that was the first time I ever saw that kid smile. I feel kind of proud of myself because of that, haha.

But anyway, I exited the cave, and the Indigo Plateau was right there at the top of a set of stairs. I was so excited that I made it, but I still had a long way to go. My team still needed training, and I needed to stock up on items, as I was getting dangerously low on Potions.

So, after spending that night at the Indigo Plateau, I used the next couple days to do some serious training around the region. I flew around to re-battle some of the trainers I've already faced, and I battles tons of wild Pokemon in the areas around the Victory Road. We finally got to a point where we feel ready enough to face the League, and I don't think I've ever seen my team so excited.

I'm writing this journal now as I'm getting ready to sleep in the Plateau's Pokemon center, although I doubt I'll get much sleep. I just went through the League's registration process today, and my battle with the Elite Four is coming up in the morning. I'm so nervous, I really don't want my career as a trainer to go up in flames. Although, knowing my team, I think we'll be just fine.

Champion, whoever you are, you had better watch out, because I have a promise to keep. And I always keep my promises, so matter what.

Current Team:

_Typhlosion 'Vesuvius'_ Female, Lv.54_  
Arbok 'Indiana'_ Male, Lv.54_  
Haunter 'Scheme_' Male, Lv.54_  
Shiny Yanmega 'Ao Tonbo_' Male, Lv.54_  
Espeon 'Imani'_ Female, Lv.54_  
Shiny Dragonair 'Lady Luck'_ Female, Lv.54


End file.
